Department for Transport

London North Eastern Railway

lord adonis: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the top five executives of the current Virgin Trains East Coast company will transfer to the public East Coast rail operator when it assumes responsibility; and if not, what staffing changes, if any, they propose.

baroness sugg: All staff who currently have an employment contract with Virgin Trains East Coast, including the Executive Directors, fall within the scope of the Transfer of Undertakings Protection of Employee Regulations (TUPE). Under TUPE, all staff have been offered the opportunity to transfer to London North Eastern Railway (LNER).

London North Eastern Railway: Pay

lord adonis: To ask Her Majesty's Government what salaries will be paid to (1) the chief executive of the new public East Coast rail operator, and (2) the next four most highly paid executives.

baroness sugg: Remuneration packages for the Board of London North Eastern Railway will be published in due course as part of the normal disclosures in the company annual accounts.

London North Eastern Railway

lord adonis: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether there will be a chairman of the new public East Coast company; and if so, who they propose for this post.

baroness sugg: Robin Gisby is the new Chair of London North Eastern Railway.

Roads

lord lea of crondall: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the reply byBaroness Sugg on 19 June, (HL Deb, col 1933), what new procedures the introduction of a "major road network from 2020" will encompass; and whether this will change the procedures in relation to the proposed Hickleys Corner underpass on the A31 in Farnham.

baroness sugg: Last December the Department launched a consultation on ‘Proposals for the creation of a Major Road Network’ which closed on 19th March 2018. Proposals included dedicating a portion of the National Roads Fund to invest in bypasses, road widening and other road improvements on the Major Road Network. A formal consultation response will be published during summer 2018 prior to the launch of the Major Road Network (MRN) programme before the end of the year. Once launched, it will be for the relevant local authority, working with other regional partners, to make the case for MRN funding for particular schemes. In the case of the proposed Hickleys Corner underpass on the A31 in Farnham, the relevant local authority is Surrey County Council.

Department of Health and Social Care

Contraceptives

baroness barker: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord O'Shaughnessy on 17 May (HL7492), what other free clinical services are available to women in areas where GP practices do not provide contraceptive services.

baroness barker: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer byLord O'Shaughnessy on 17 May (HL7492), how they ensure that women are made aware of their entitlement to free contraceptive services.

lord o'shaughnessy: The Government has mandated upper tier local authorities to commission comprehensive open access sexual health services, including free provision of contraception, in their area.General practitioner practices opting out of providing contraceptive services should inform their patients where they can access contraceptive services. In addition, information on women’s entitlement to free contraception is available online on NHS Choices. NHS Choices also enables women to identify their nearest sexual health clinic.

Contraceptives

baroness barker: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord O'Shaughnessy on 17 May (HL7492), which body is responsible for monitoring waiting list times for contraceptive services.

baroness barker: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer byLord O'Shaughnessy on 17 May (HL7492), which body is responsible for monitoring complaints about lack of access to contraceptive services.

lord o'shaughnessy: There is no central body responsible for monitoring waiting times for access to contraceptive services and data is not collected centrally.National Health Service commissioners and providers, and local authorities, are required to operate complaints processes and respond appropriately in relation to complaints about their services. National level data on complaints is not broken down to this level of detail.

Contraceptives

baroness barker: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord O'Shaughnessy on 17 May (HL7492), whether providers of contraceptive services receive financial benefits for prescribing particular types and methods of contraception.

lord o'shaughnessy: Providers of contraceptive services receive funding from commissioners for the provision of services. It is for commissioners to decide whether to put incentive schemes in place to encourage the prescribing of particular contraceptive products.

Out of Area Treatment

lord glenarthur: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether, in the context of unplanned admissions to hospitals by patients registered in Scotland, English hospitals are able to access an individuals patient's records for the purpose of admission and medical history; and if not, whether they propose to enable such arrangements.

lord o'shaughnessy: We recognise that information and data sharing is essential to delivering high quality, integrated health and social care and this Government is committed to ensuring that data sharing is done safely, securely and legally.There are currently no plans to allow the Summary Care Record to be accessed by English hospitals for patients who are registered with general practitioner surgeries in Scotland.

General Practitioners: Insurance

lord sharkey: To ask Her Majesty's Government what progress they have made in implementing a state-backed GP indemnity scheme in England; and what further implementation plans are currently in place.

lord o'shaughnessy: In October 2017, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care announced the intention of the Department to develop a state-backed indemnity scheme for general practice in England. This announcement recognised that the rising cost of clinical negligence is a great source of concern for general practitioners (GPs).Since the announcement, the Government has been developing the new scheme, seeking to put in place a more stable and affordable system of indemnity for general practice. The plans announced so far are as follows:- NHS Resolution will be directed to establish and administer the scheme on behalf of the Secretary of State. This means that NHS Resolution will be given responsibility for the overall administration of the scheme;- The scheme will include activities delivered under the primary medical care contracts (General Medical Services, Personal Medical Services and Alternative Provider Medical Services). Other professions working under the primary medical care contracts will be included in the scheme. The scheme will also include work delivered under the primary medical care contracts that are delivered in secure environments; and- The current intention is that the scheme will exclude National Health Service primary care dentistry and private dentistry, private healthcare and community pharmacy and optometry.We are working closely with the medical defence organisations, NHS England, and representatives of general practice professionals.In March 2018, the Department commissioned a survey of GPs, nurses and pharmacists in general practice. The survey was designed to help the Department understand current indemnity arrangements within general practice, informing the development of the new state backed scheme.We are currently analysing the survey results and will provide further details along with the key findings of the GP Indemnity Survey in due course.We remain fully committed to developing and implementing the scheme from April 2019.

General Practitioners: Insurance

lord sharkey: To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the total cost to the NHS of implementing a state-backed GP indemnity scheme in England.

lord sharkey: To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the average annual savingto GPs of a state-backed GP indemnity scheme in England.

lord o'shaughnessy: The state backed scheme is being designed to provide more stable, affordable and financially sustainable indemnity cover for general practitioners (GPs). A state backed scheme will enable the Government to have greater overall sight of costs and claims.The scheme should meet the needs of current and future GPs and offer value for money for taxpayers. This involves complex considerations about funding which are being worked through, and we are working with HM Treasury and NHS England to assess the potential future cost of the scheme. We are unable to provide the estimates that result from these assessments as this information is commercially sensitive.The Government is working with medical defence organisations, general practice representatives and other key stakeholders on the design of the scheme.

General Practitioners: Insurance

lord sharkey: To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the impact of a state-backed GP indemnity scheme in England on the number and value of clinical negligence claims made against GPs and other members of primary care teams.

lord o'shaughnessy: The Department understands that the rising cost of indemnity cover is a great source of concern for general practitioners (GPs) and impacts negatively on the GP workforce. We are seeking to put in place a more affordable and more stable system of indemnity for general practice. The state backed indemnity scheme will aim to protect both patients and providers from the consequences of clinical negligence and to meet the changing needs of the National Health Service.We have not made an assessment of the potential impact of the state scheme on the number and value of clinical negligence claims, but more generally, the Government is working to produce a cross-Government strategy to tackle the rising costs of clinical negligence, as challenged by the National Audit Office in their report, Managing the costs of clinical negligence in trusts, published in September 2017. A copy of this report is attached.



Managing the costs of clinical negligence 
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General Practitioners: Insurance

lord sharkey: To ask Her Majesty's Government whatassessment they have made of the effect of the introduction of a state-backed GP indemnity scheme in England on the medical defence organisation marketplace.

lord o'shaughnessy: The Department is developing a state-backed indemnity scheme for general practice in England. This recognises that the rising cost of clinical negligence is a great source of concern for general practitioners (GPs). The state-backed scheme is being designed to provide more affordable and more stable cover for GPs.We recognise the value of medical defence organisations to their members and we are working closely with them to understand the impact of the proposed scheme on their business.

Department for International Development

Palestinians: Syria

lord hylton: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will consult the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East and other UN agencies about what can be done for the Palestinians formerly living in Yarmouk, who moved to Babbila, Yalda and Beit Sahem but who now face eviction.

lord bates: Through the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) Syria Emergency Appeal, the UK continues to support Palestinian refugees in Syria, including those who are displaced following the siege of Yarmouk. The UK remains in dialogue with UNRWA as they assess and develop contingency plans to assist displaced Palestinian refugees, including should they be evicted from Yarmouk, Yalda, Babbila and Beit Sahem.

Department for Education

Sex and Relationship Education

lord storey: To ask Her Majesty's Government when the call for evidence on guidance relating to Relationship Education at primary level and Relationship and Sex Education at secondary level opened; when the closing date was; and when they expect to report.

lord agnew of oulton: Following the announcement that Relationships Education at primary level and Relationships and Sex Education at secondary level will become mandatory subjects, a call for evidence was launched on 19 December 2017 and closed on 12 February 2018.The call for evidence sought views on the content and shape of the new subjects, and on the status of Personal, Social, Health and Economic Education. To ensure that we heard directly from young people, we also ran a separate age-appropriate call for evidence for children and young people. All of the questions can be found on the call for evidence site at: https://consult.education.gov.uk/life-skills/pshe-rse-call-for-evidence/.The results from the call for evidence will be published shortly, alongside a consultation on draft statutory guidance and accompanying regulations. Once this is complete, and we have had a chance to take account of the views we hear, we will be laying the guidance and regulations in both Houses for debate.

Apprentices: Taxation

lord taylor of warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have any plans to carry out a review of the Apprenticeship Levy.

lord agnew of oulton: We continually monitor performance and keep apprenticeships policy under review, making changes and improvements in consultation with employers and training providers. For example, we recently introduced the ability for levy paying employers to transfer up to 10% of their apprenticeship funds to other employers. The Institute for Apprenticeships has introduced a new ‘Faster and Better’ initiative to speed up the approval of new apprenticeship standards. We have also introduced a new £1000 bursary to support apprentices who are care leavers and are working to introduce a new feedback tool to allow employers to provide transparent feedback about the quality of training they receive from individual providers.

Ministry of Justice

Prison Officers: Recruitment

the marquess of lothian: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer byLord Keen of Elie on 7 June (HL8219),how many more prison officers are currently needed in the UK; how they plan to recruit the necessary prison officers; and what success the Unlocked programme has had in contributing to increasing recruitment.

lord keen of elie: As part of the Prison Safety and Reform White Paper published in November 2016, the Government committed to an increase of 2,500 Prison Officers by the end of 2018.Between the end of October 2016 (the closest data point in time to when the commitment was made) and the end of March 2018, the number of Band 3 to 5 prison officers (headcount) increased from 18,713 to 21,824; a net increase of 3,111.It is anticipated that 90 percent of the new recruits will be on the landings by the summer and all of them will be operational by the end of the year. The first cohort of 52 graduates from the Unlocked scheme, which encourages the brightest graduates to consider a career in HMPPS, entered the HMPPS workforce in August last year – 15% higher than had been anticipated. Due to the popularity of the programme, up to 115 candidates will be recruited for the 2018 cohort. They are due to join the service in July 2018. Under the Prison Safety and Reform agenda, Governors have been given greater responsibility for workforce planning and determining their local organisational structure. This includes the number of officers they employ and Governors can implement changes to shift arrangements and resource deployment providing they remain within the agreed funding envelope. This empowerment of the Governor’s position is intended to enable them to make best use of resources to support prison safety and develop strategies to reduce reoffending. HMPPS does not set workforce planning arrangements for Scotland and Northern Ireland, as this is a matter for devolved Governments. The recruitment drive continues and will continue until we reach required levels across the prison estate, with the same urgency that has secured this remarkable influx of new staff.

Prisoners: Mothers

baroness uddin: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the answer by Baroness Vere of Norbiton on 11 June (HL Deb, cols 1499–1501), how many women prisoners with dependants under 16 yearsold are in custody as result of their association with men imprisoned under anti-terrorism legislation; and what support, if any, is provided to their families under the Prevent strategy or by any other providers within any other government programmes.

lord keen of elie: HMPPS do not hold information on which women prisoners are in custody as a result of their association with men imprisoned under anti-terrorism legislation, nor do we hold information regarding the ages of prisoners’ children. We are only obliged to record information about the prisoner, so prisoners are not required to divulge information relating to the age of their children.The Prevent strategy seeks to safeguard people from becoming terrorists or supporting terrorism. Support through programmes under the strategy can be provided to address the vulnerabilities and needs of the person concerned, on a case-by-case basis.

Sentencing: Females

baroness whitaker: To ask Her Majesty's Government what advice is given to (1) judges and magistrates, and (2) those in judicial training, on alternatives to custodial sentencing for women who are given short sentences for non-violent offences, such as a requirement to attend women's community centres.

lord keen of elie: Sentencing is an independent judicial decision taken in each case based on the factors about the offence and offender available to the court, and the statutory framework laid down by Parliament. Judges and magistrates also take in to account relevant case law (notably there is detailed existing guidance on the sentencing of mothers i.e. Petherick [2012] EWCA Crim 2214) and any guidelines issued by the Sentencing Council, especially the guideline on imposition of community and custodial sentences. The Judicial College uses sentencing exercises to give judges the opportunity to discuss the weight to be given to all relevant factors and the correct approach in making a decision. Chapter 6 of the Equal Treatment Bench Book considers “Gender” and sets out some of the impact issues of imprisonment on women. The National Probation Service can advise Courts of the local options for community orders for women.

HM Courts and Tribunals Service

lord beecham: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer byLord Keen of Elie on 13 March 2017 (HL5691), when they intend to start the regular publication of the notes of the HM Courts and Tribunal Service Board meetings.

lord keen of elie: The work of HMCTS is overseen by its Board, which is headed by an independent Chair, working with executive, non-executive and judicial members. Following the commitment to publish notes of HMCTS Board meetings, summaries dating back to March 2017 have started to be made available on the HMCTS pages of www.gov.uk. Summaries of all meetings to date will be available before the end of this month.

Treasury

Low Pay

baroness altmann: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their estimate of the number of (1) employees, and (2) otherworkers, in the UK who earn less than the personal tax threshold in any one job; and of those, how many are (a) male, and (b) female.

lord bates: An error has been identified in the written answer given on 09 April 2018.The correct answer should have been:

Estimates of the number of individuals with earnings less than the Income Tax Personal Allowance in any one job are shown in the table below. The table relates to the 2015-16 tax year when the Personal Allowance was £10,600. The figures are for people employed and taxed through Pay As You Earn Income Tax and with self-employment income taxed through Self Assessment. Individuals included in the table may have had more than one job in the year where they earnt below the Personal Allowance. The figures also include individuals with an income above £10,600 in one job, but who also had at least one job with PAYE or self-employment earnings below £10,600 in 2015-16.  Individuals with earnings less than the Income Tax Personal Allowance in any one job, 2015-16 tax year (millions) Employees (1)Self employed (2)(3)Male8.346.832.11Female6.838.341.55All15.173.66 NotesBased on Pay As You Earn data. The earnings definition used is the same as used in the publication, UK Real Time Information, Experimental Statistics.The figures for self-employment income sources are based on the 2015-16 Survey of PersonalIncomes and consistent with information published in tables 3.9 and 3.10 of HMRC’s Personal Incomes statistics, tables 3.1 to 3.11.Includes those who were trading but made a loss for the tax year.

lord bates: Estimates of the number of individuals with earnings less than the Income Tax Personal Allowance in any one job are shown in the table below. The table relates to the 2015-16 tax year when the Personal Allowance was £10,600. The figures are for people employed and taxed through Pay As You Earn Income Tax and with self-employment income taxed through Self Assessment. Individuals included in the table may have had more than one job in the year where they earnt below the Personal Allowance. The figures also include individuals with an income above £10,600 in one job, but who also had at least one job with PAYE or self-employment earnings below £10,600 in 2015-16.  Individuals with earnings less than the Income Tax Personal Allowance in any one job, 2015-16 tax year (millions) Employees (1)Self employed (2)(3)Male8.346.832.11Female6.838.341.55All15.173.66 NotesBased on Pay As You Earn data. The earnings definition used is the same as used in the publication, UK Real Time Information, Experimental Statistics.The figures for self-employment income sources are based on the 2015-16 Survey of PersonalIncomes and consistent with information published in tables 3.9 and 3.10 of HMRC’s Personal Incomes statistics, tables 3.1 to 3.11.Includes those who were trading but made a loss for the tax year.

Insurance Premium Tax: Motor Vehicles

lord beecham: To ask Her Majesty's Government how much extra revenue has been generated by the 12 per cent increase in Insurance Premium Tax on motor vehicles since 1 June 2017.

lord bates: The estimated revenue from the increase in the standard rate of Insurance Premium Tax from 10% to 12% effective from 1 June 2017 was updated at Spring Budget 2017, as follows for the period up to the current financial year:2017-18: £520 million2018-19: £840 million It is estimated that approximately 35% of this relates to motor vehicle insurance.

Unemployment

baroness stroud: To ask Her Majesty's Government how much has been saved to the public purse through reducing unemployment since 2010.

lord bates: The unemployment rate currently stands at 4.2% and today there are 609,000 fewer jobseeking claimants than in 2010. As a result, the government is forecast to spend £2.6 billion pounds less on benefits for jobseekers in 2018-19 than in 2010-11. There are also likely to be indirect effects on the public purse from reduced unemployment since 2010, for example through increased tax receipts. HM Treasury has not made a detailed assessment of this.

Banks: Standards

viscount thurso: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of those recommendations of the Parliamentary Commission on Banking Standards that were put into law through the provisions of the Financial Services (Banking Reform) Act 2013.

lord bates: The Government has made significant steps to reform the financial services sector following the financial crisis, including by implementing the major recommendations of the Parliamentary Committee on Banking Standards (PCBS). The Financial Services (Banking Reform) Act 2013 implemented several of the PCBS’s recommendations. This includes the introduction of the Senior Managers and Certification Regime, which takes action on individual accountability and misconduct, the establishment of the Payment Systems Regulator, and giving the Prudential Regulation Authority a secondary competition objective. The Government continues to monitor the impact of these reforms.

Bank Services

viscount thurso: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment, if any, they have made of the availability of bank accounts to small community groups, charities and societies.

lord bates: The Treasury has not made such an assessment. The RBS alternative remedies package will see a £775m investment in business banking facilities, enabling challenger banks to provide a larger range of business bank accounts. The Government recognises the enormous contribution that small and local charities make to society, and is working to enable smaller charities to become more independent, resilient and sustainable.

Ministry of Defence

Maritime Volunteer Service

lord west of spithead: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the reply byEarl Howe on 14 June (HL Deb, col 1764), what consideration they have given to making more use of the Maritime Volunteer Service.

earl howe: I refer the noble Lord to the answer given by Baroness Williams of Trafford to Question HL6730 on 20 April 2017.



UK Border Force: Maritime Volunteer Service
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Department for Work and Pensions

Social Security Benefits: Families

baroness stroud: To ask Her Majesty's Government how much the UK spends on family benefits; and how this compares to other countries in the OECD.

baroness buscombe: The latest data shows that the UK spends 3.8 per cent of GDP on expenditure classified by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). This is more than any other country in the OECD. “Family benefits” include cash benefits, such as person tax credits, Child Benefit; maternity benefits and child Disability Living Allowance; and benefits in kind covering child care and social services. They do not include other benefits that might be available to the claimant, such as Personal Independence Payment or Housing Benefit.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Tree Felling: Sheffield

lord scriven: To ask Her Majesty's Government what powers the Tree Champion will have to deal with the Sheffield City Council tree felling programme.

lord scriven: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have asked the Tree Champion to intervene in the tree felling programme in Sheffield as a matter of urgency.

lord gardiner of kimble: The Tree Champion’s appointment does not have any statutory powers. The Terms of Reference for the Tree Champion, published on 13 June, set out that Sir William Worsley will:   Support the introduction of a new duty for local councils to consult before felling street trees;Support the Government to deliver its objective of planting 1m urban trees by 2022;Bring together Mayors, city leaders, and other key players across government to promote the value of trees and promote local authorities development of comprehensive Tree and Woodland Strategies;Explore how local authorities can improve their reporting on tree felling and re-planting, andEncourage more effective approaches to tree management that promote and preserve the benefits of street trees while managing the health and safety risks of diseased trees Since his appointment, Sir William Worsley has requested information from officials on tree felling in Sheffield. Separately, the Forestry Commission is currently investigating the tree felling being undertaken by Sheffield City Council as part of the Streets Ahead programme using powers to control tree felling as set out in Part II of the Forestry Act 1967. We are not able to provide any further information on this investigation whilst it is ongoing.

Agriculture: Finance

lord jones: To ask Her Majesty's Government how they plan to consult farming unions regarding farmers' continuing entitlement to grants, subsidies and successor grants following Brexit.

lord gardiner of kimble: Defra’s consultation document ‘Health and Harmony: the future for food, farming and the environment in a Green Brexit’ invited views on proposals for future agriculture policy in England.   The consultation, which closed on 8 May, sought the views of those in the industry – including the farming unions – on our proposals to make sure future policies reflect the reality of life for farmers and food producers. Over 40,000 responses were received from a wide range of stakeholders including farmers, environmental, and food and farming related organisations and the general public. All responses are being analysed and will be used to inform future policy.

Agriculture

lord jones: To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with representatives of the farming industry in England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland concerning post-Brexit agricultural policy.

lord gardiner of kimble: Ministers and officials are in regular contact with stakeholders from all four nations of the UK and discuss a wide range of issues, including future agricultural policy. Outside of the Common Agricultural Policy we can have an agriculture and land management policy that works for the whole of the United Kingdom. Intrinsic to our approach will be as much flexibility as possible for each devolved administration to design policies to meet their own circumstances, subject to the establishment of common UK frameworks where necessary, consistent with the principles agreed by the Joint Ministerial Committee.

Home Office

Cannabis: Medical Treatments

lord warner: To ask Her Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to the prescription of medicinal cannabis by registered medical practitioners for the use of NHS patients in England; and whether such medication may be brought into the UK if it has been prescribed abroad with the approval of a patient's UK registered medical practitioner.

baroness williams of trafford: Cannabis is currently a drug listed under Schedule 1 of the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2001 and as such, it cannot legally be possessed, supplied or imported without a Home Office Licence.On 19th June 2018, the Home Secretary announced a review of the scheduling of cannabis. As part of the review, the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs will provide an assessment, based on the balance of harms and public health needs, of what, if anything, should be rescheduled.

Police: Stun Guns

lord davies of stamford: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether any category of police officer dealing with the public is excluded from being eligible for training in the use of Tasers and from being issued with them; and if so, on what grounds.

baroness williams of trafford: We are committed to giving the police the necessary tools to do their job and TASER®, a form of conducted energy device (CED), provides officers with an important less-lethal, tactical option when facing potentially physically violent situationsWhile its use must be in line with the Home Secretary’s authorisation of the device, the deployment of TASER® is an operational matter for Chief Officers. It is for them to determine the number of devices and specially trained officers based on their force assessment of threat and riskThe use of CEDs is currently limited to officers who have completed their probationary period and been confirmed in rank. Officers who wish to undertake CED training are also required to have the support of their supervisor and have to successfully pass the training. Any change to this model, including the eligibility of officers to apply for special training, would require formal consideration by the Home Secretary.

Cabinet Office

Hogan Lovells: South Africa

lord hain: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the comments by the Deputy Director General of the South African Treasury in relation to Hogan Lovells LLP; and what plans, if any, they have to let government contracts to Hogan Lovells LLP in future.

baroness stedman-scott: The Government is aware of this situation and is monitoring it. Any bidder, including Hogan Lovells, which bids for a Government contract covered by the Public Contracts Regulations, would be subject to the rules on exclusions.

Department for International Trade

Overseas Trade: Turkey

the marquess of lothian: To ask Her Majesty's Government what progress has been made by the joint trade working group established in 2017 to prepare the ground for the post-Brexit UK–Turkey trading relationship.

baroness fairhead: The UK Government wants to ensure that the strong trading relationship between the UK and Turkey continues to thrive after the UK leaves the EU. We are working with Turkey through the UK-Turkey Trade Working Group to understand what is necessary to achieve this. The Working Group has now met three times, the most recent meeting was held in London on 20 June.